Category: Agriculture

Most Montanans support responsible energy development, valuing clean air, water and land as well as the oil and gas that powers our travel and heats our homes. Where we often disagree is on the definition of “development done right.” This week, the Senate Natural Resources Committee heard three bills that attempt to define doing development right on a level that considers the neighbors. - Senate Bill 172, sponsored by Sen. Sharon Stewart-Peregoy, D-Billings, would require oil and gas...

NOTE: Northern Plains Resource Council staff and volunteers over the last two months conducted an intensive door canvass in Billings in opposition to LR-126, knocking on more than 21,000 doors and having more than 8,000 conversations about the measure. On Tuesday, 441 Yellowstone County residents registered and voted in the General Election, according to preliminary data. Thanks to overwhelming support from voters across Montana, Election Day registration will remain an option for all of us. A GOP lawmakers’...

Buying American is good for Americans individually and for our economy as a whole. Shoes, shirts, cars, even seafood, fruits and vegetables are labeled with the country of manufacture or origin so shoppers can make a better-informed choice. So what’s the matter with labeling beef and pork, too? Well, meat production is a multinational business for big meat packing businesses and for some U.S. ranchers along the Mexican border. Some of the beef sold in U.S. grocery stores comes...

If you want to see a real “all of the above” energy policy, take a look at the five scenarios the Montana Department of Environmental Quality has put out for discussion. The DEQ wrote a white paper with these five hypothetical strategies for Montana to respond to the tougher federal carbon emissions rule that the EPA proposed in June. When DEQ held public meetings earlier this month in Colstrip, Billings and Missoula, around 500 people attended....

By Greg Tollefson Once again, the last weekend in April found me in the southeast corner of Montana with my pal Homer on a sentimental journey to one of our favorite places on the planet, the Tongue River Valley. We make the long trip ostensibly because it’s wild turkey season, and hunting turkeys is a great way to explore the nooks and crannies of that under appreciated part of the state. This year, we were joined by friend...

For years, some Yellowstone County leaders concerned about access to coal impact funds have asked Montana governors to appoint a county resident to the Coal Board. County Commissioner Bill Kennedy and Rep. Margie MacDonald, D-Billings, were among those who asked Gov. Steve Bullock to appoint the first Yellowstone County resident. “There’s a misguided myth that Yellowstone County is not impacted,” MacDonald said last week. “We’ve always wanted a voice on the Coal Board,” Kennedy said. That concern...

In 2005, the Montana Legislature had the forethought to pass renewable energy portfolio standards that defined renewable energy and required state utilities to have a portion of their energy portfolio derived from these sources. The legislation started the portfolio requirements at 5 percent, increasing to 15 percent by 2015. Currently, the two largest public utility companies in Montana — NorthWestern Energy and Montana Dakota Utilities already are at or near that 15 percent level. However, since the legislation passed,...

When businesses harness Montana’s wind energy, private landowners, local and state governments and workers share the benefits. More than a dozen wind farms scattered across Montana have a total electricity generating capacity of 647 megawatts. They represent $1.3 billion in capital investment, creation of 1,319 construction jobs and 86 permanent jobs. Together, they paid $5.4 million in taxes in 2010. By 2018, these same wind farms will be paying $8.9 million in property taxes as abatements expire. Wind...